By Giles Ferrell -
Jordan Greenway got his first taste of full-time NHL hockey 2018-19, and the results for Minnesota's 2015 second-round draft pick left some to be desired moving forward.
Greenway tallied 12 goals and 12 assists in 81 games in his first full season with Minnesota. At times, he flashed some brilliance offensively, but again, his play has much room for improvement. His scoring rates were towards the bottom of the team charts, and he was not a great driver of puck possession. Even just getting shots on goal proved to be challenging for the 22 year old.
[caption id=attachment_54971" align="alignnone" width="1560]
via EliteProspects.com[/caption]
Even among rookies in the NHL, Greenway did not even crack the top 10 in goals or points scored. However, it is worth noting that Greenway received very little power play time this season -- just over 50 minutes -- and did not register a single point while on the man advantage. All of his points came at even strength.
| Scor | Scor | Goal | Goal | Goal | Goal | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | PTS | Tm | Lg | Pos | Season | Age | GP | G | A | +/- | PIM | EV | PP | SH | GW | S | S% | TOI |
| 1 | Elias Pettersson | 66 | VAN | NHL | C | 2018-19 | 20 | 71 | 28 | 38 | 3 | 12 | 18 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 144 | 19.4 | 1294 |
| 2 | Brady Tkachuk | 45 | OTT | NHL | LW | 2018-19 | 19 | 71 | 22 | 23 | -10 | 75 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 214 | 10.3 | 1138 |
| 3 | Andreas Johnsson | 43 | TOR | NHL | LW | 2018-19 | 24 | 73 | 20 | 23 | 14 | 32 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 130 | 15.4 | 998 |
| 4 | Colin White | 41 | OTT | NHL | C | 2018-19 | 22 | 71 | 14 | 27 | -24 | 24 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 123 | 11.4 | 1150 |
| 5 | Anthony Cirelli | 39 | TBL | NHL | C | 2018-19 | 21 | 82 | 19 | 20 | 25 | 34 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 123 | 15.4 | 1217 |
| 6 | Dominik Kahun | 37 | CHI | NHL | C | 2018-19 | 23 | 82 | 13 | 24 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 137 | 9.5 | 1160 |
| 7 | Andrei Svechnikov | 37 | CAR | NHL | RW | 2018-19 | 18 | 82 | 20 | 17 | 0 | 62 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 189 | 10.6 | 1201 |
| 8 | Jesperi Kotkaniemi | 34 | MTL | NHL | C | 2018-19 | 18 | 79 | 11 | 23 | 1 | 26 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 134 | 8.2 | 1086 |
| 9 | Oskar Lindblom | 33 | PHI | NHL | LW | 2018-19 | 22 | 81 | 17 | 16 | -9 | 20 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 162 | 10.5 | 1113 |
| 10 | Robert Thomas | 33 | STL | NHL | C | 2018-19 | 19 | 70 | 9 | 24 | -2 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 11.3 | 915 |
| 11 | Mathieu Joseph | 26 | TBL | NHL | RW | 2018-19 | 21 | 70 | 13 | 13 | 5 | 26 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 95 | 13.7 | 795 |
| 12 | Ryan Donato | 25 | TOT | NHL | C | 2018-19 | 22 | 56 | 10 | 15 | -15 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 139 | 7.2 | 767 |
| 13 | Casey Mittelstadt | 25 | BUF | NHL | C | 2018-19 | 20 | 77 | 12 | 13 | -19 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 118 | 10.2 | 1036 |
| 14 | Jordan Greenway | 24 | MIN | NHL | LW | 2018-19 | 21 | 81 | 12 | 12 | -12 | 29 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 109 | 11.0 | 1104 |
| 15 | Filip Chytil | 23 | NYR | NHL | C | 2018-19 | 19 | 75 | 11 | 12 | -22 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 133 | 8.3 | 1034 |
But again, there is still a glimmer of hope as the Boston University alum had shown some brilliance offensively that inspires a positive outlook for the future.
Greenway's big frame (6-foot-6) also gives hope that he can be a big physical force for the Wild in all ends of the ice, but more specifically in the offensive zone. The Wild need another physical net-front presence type and if Greenway can develop his game into that, he can be an extremely valuable asset for the Wild in years to come.
Greenway is part of a collection of young Wild players on the roster headed into 2019-20 that will need to step up on the production side of things offensively. The Wild offense fell apart in the last half of the season, as players like Greenway were shuffled into new places following trades of team mainstays Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter.
With the logjam at forward -- 14 skaters vying for 12 spots -- Greenway is a near-lock to make the Wild roster headed into the start of the regular season. He could, in theory, begin the season in Iowa, but that seems less likely with Kevin Fiala's current holdout and the fact Bruce Boudreau wants to give the young guys on the roster their fair shake this upcoming season. It is more likely Greenway stays and plays the entire season with Minnesota once again.
The entry-level contract for Greenway is up after 2020, but don't worry, the forward is just a restricted free agent meaning the Wild will still hold his rights. But if he is wanting to have a solid boost in pay, his production will have to spike to facilitate that pay increase.
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